Many of us in our daily activities see situations that under the right circumstances could become a situation where we would have to make a choice about our safety. Let’s be perfectly clear about these incidents. There are two buckets of force in life. Deadly Force vs Non-Deadly Force. When you are involved in an incident you must decide within a split second if your life is in danger (deadly force) or if there is some less than lethal alternative (non-deadly force) that is more appropriate for the situation. When you are attacked in any situation that is less than deadly force you are only allowed to reach into the non-deadly force bucket to solve the problem this is called proportionality. Going to your gun in these situations is not appropriate and can get you arrested and in a situation where you are facing charges. Non-deadly force options are limited to some extent by your physical ability to handle an individual with your bare hands. You also have the option to retreat (run away) which is always good if it can be accomplished safely under the circumstances. Remember that when you are in a vehicle driving away is always the best option. Many times people freeze and they fail to see the options available. Practice visualizing these situations and while driving always be aware of how close you are to other vehicles especially while waiting at a light or other traffic control situations. You should always be able to see the rear wheels on the vehicle in front of you, so you have room to maneuver around that vehicle if you have to. OC/Pepper Spray is also a good idea and is considered a non-deadly force option. These sprays give you the advantage of time to make a good decision without having to use deadly force. Some communities in the front range have local ordinances prohibiting certain size containers of these sprays. Colorado Springs has a 1.5 oz limit to be legal. Pueblo has no limit. I noticed in the Pueblo paper today that people are not being arrested anymore if they have not committed a felony. (Catch and Release) sound familiar? This is because they claim they have no room in the jail facilities for non-felony offenders. It is your job to have the toolsyou need to keep yourself and your family safe. Be very aware that the display of a gun or threatening to use a gun can have consequences you may not like. In Colorado, we are not allowed to use deadly force to protect property. They will find room for you and me in the crowded jail if we use our deadly force tools improperly. Remember you must have a reasonably articulable fear of death or serious grave bodily injury to use deadly force. That means you must be able to tell a story that to a reasonable person would sound like your life was in danger of death or serious bodily injury. It can not be an irrational fear. Remember Ability, Opportunity, and Jeopardy. Do they have the ability to harm you (a tool, overwhelming strength or size)? Do they have the opportunity this is usually a matter of time and distance (are they close enough to harm you with that tool)? Jeopardy (do they intend to harm you)? If you are a nervous Sally and everybody scares you, maybe you should reconsider carrying a handgun for self-defense. A handgun needs to be a last resort, not the goto tool that you use for every event. Training and familiarity with your firearm can go along way to ease some of your concerns and will give you the confidence you need to make proper decisions. Remember any incident you are involved in should be reported. You always need to be the first one to report the incident on the phone to the police. If you are not the reporting party you could end up being the accused party of the use of unlawful force.

DisclaimerAs always any advice I give on this or any other matter is not legal advice. This information is only for educational purposes and you can not rely on it as LEGAL ADVICE. If you feel you need more information about these and other subjects of this type, I have a list of qualified individuals that you are welcome to have. Do not rely on family attorneys, police officers, or military personnel for this information. It has been found that many of these people have outdated or misleading information about these topics. When in doubt join one of the legal organizations that will take your questions and answer them. I recommend the USCCA (United States Concealed Carry Association).

According to Massad Ayoob in his book Deadly Force – Understanding Your Right to Self Defense– Ability, Opportunity, and Jeopardy must exist for you to use Deadly Force. “The situation of immediate danger of death or crippling injury is normally determined by the simultaneous presence of three criteria. Different schools use different terminology, but the most widely used and court-proven standard has been in use for decades: Ability, Opportunity, and Jeopardy. “Ability” means that the assailant possesses the power to kill or cripple. “Opportunity” means he is capable of immediately employing that power. “Jeopardy” means that his actions and/ or words indicate to a reasonable, prudent person that he intends to do so and is about to do so.”

Everyone talks about the 21 foot rule this is part of Opportunity…..remember its a study not a rule and you may only be able to introduce it in a legal situation or trial when you can prove that you new about it and have been trained with the drills prior to the incident. In Massad Ayoobs book “Deadly Force” he says “Be Trained! Training is discoverable, and therefore introducible to educate the jury”

The Tueller Drill is a self-defense training exercise to prepare against a short-range knife or contact weapon attack when armed only with a holstered handgun. Sergeant Dennis Tueller, of the Salt Lake City, Utah Police Department wondered how quickly an attacker with a knife could cover 21 feet (6.4 m), so he timed volunteers as they raced to stab the target. He determined that it could be done in 1.5 seconds. These results were first published as an article in SWAT magazine in 1983 and in a police training video by the same title, “How Close is Too Close?”A defender with a gun has a dilemma. If he shoots too early, he risks being charged with murder. If he waits until the attacker is definitely within striking range so there is no question about motives, he risks injury and even death. The Tueller experiments quantified a “danger zone” where an attacker presented a clear threat. The Tueller Drill combines both parts of the original time trials by Tueller.

There are several ways it can be conducted:

The “attacker and shooter are positioned back-to-back. At the signal, the attacker sprints away from the shooter, and the shooter unholsters his gun and shoots at the target 21 feet (6.4 m) in front of him. The attacker stops as soon as the shot is fired. The shooter is successful only if his shot is good and if the runner did not cover 21 feet (6.4 m).

A more stressful arrangement is to have the attacker begin 21 feet (6.4 m) behind the shooter and run towards the shooter. The shooter is successful only if he was able take a good shot before he is tapped on the back by the attacker.